HARRIS NAMED WOMEN'S COACH

Yvette Harris, a longtime Division I women's assistant basketball coach at such schools as Ohio State and Michigan, decided it was time to try for a head coaching position.

She met her goal. Harris is the coach at Central Connecticut.

Harris, 43, replaces Kim Foley, whose contract was not renewed after last season. Foley had a six-year record of 56-104, including 4-23 last season.

"The challenge of it being your program and working hard on the job are two things that appealed to me," Harris said Wednesday by telephone from Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Yes, Central is not the Big 10. But [in] the Northeast Conference the challenge [is still] to recruit good players and to win; I believe we can do both."

Central athletic director C.J. Jones said Harris was selected from a pool of about 50 candidates.

"She has a passion for the game and her recruiting background [she was recruiting coordinator at Michigan 1996-2001] were big selling points," Jones said. "She seems like the right fit for us."

Harris' assistant coaching career started in 1982 at Northern Illinois. She was also an assistant at Western Michigan, Ohio State, Fresno State and Michigan.

Michigan appeared in two NCAA Tournaments and two WNITs in her tenure.

Harris took off a year from coaching this past season, working at her sports publishing firm, The Sport Planner, in Ann Arbor.

"I've had this business for a while and we publish such things as planners for coaches and high school and college student athletes," she said. "I enjoyed doing it, and I'm confident there are other people interested in taking over my business."

Harris plans on coming to Connecticut next month. In the meantime, she'll be on the road recruiting for the Blue Devils.

"Connecticut is known all over for its basketball, with the success and great program UConn has," Harris said. "I think the state and the Northeast are great recruiting areas. I can't wait to get going for Central Connecticut."